Two senior U.S. envoys are to meet Israeli and Palestinian officials in the Middle East this week, in an effort to avoid a delay in upcoming Palestinian elections.
A U.S. State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack says the talks are partly intended to address concerns that Israel may block voting in East Jerusalem.
He said both sides have reached earlier deals to allow voting in the occupied region, and there is no reason why a new deal cannot be reached.
Israel has warned it may block Palestinian voters in the January 25th vote, if candidates from the Hamas militant group are allowed to take part.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to postpone the vote, if Israel carries out its threat.
Meanwhile, Israeli police in East Jerusalem stopped two Palestinian candidates from campaigning Tuesday, at the start of the campaign period.
A U.S. State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack says the talks are partly intended to address concerns that Israel may block voting in East Jerusalem.
He said both sides have reached earlier deals to allow voting in the occupied region, and there is no reason why a new deal cannot be reached.
Israel has warned it may block Palestinian voters in the January 25th vote, if candidates from the Hamas militant group are allowed to take part.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to postpone the vote, if Israel carries out its threat.
Meanwhile, Israeli police in East Jerusalem stopped two Palestinian candidates from campaigning Tuesday, at the start of the campaign period.